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Adapting a live action movie Part V - The Budget

posted 11 years ago by takashi_kupo
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As a part of a regular series, we are going to discuss what it would take to make a successful live action adaptation of Sailor Moon including character changes, casts, languages, nationality, ethnicities, music, composers, etc;

Part of making a successful movie is budgeting correctly. Previously, we have seen great success with big budget visual effects movies, not in terms of box office, but in terms of aesthetics. Afterall, one may only look to "The Golden Compass" as a visually pleasing piece of art where the boxoffice just failed to deliver. The budget on that film was over $200 million though. Likewise, there is another visual effects movie that did well inside the budget and still managed to swing even: Percy Jackson, though not critically appealing, did its job well. With a budget of $70-$90 for each film, both came out as pleasing to the eye as it was to the studios.

The question posed in this installment is a more complicated one. Sailor Moon doesn't have to have grandiose special effects to succeed, but it doesn't hurt. Nor does Sailor Moon have to have a grandiose budget to succeed, but failing to make that money back would inhibit any room for success as a new film franchise. So the question is, what kind of budget would you be looking at for a Sailor Moon adaptation if you took into account everything from Actors, the script, the special effects, etc; You are allowed to have a $10 million leadway, meaning you can say $100-$110 million or just $110 million. Then take some time to explain why and perhaps what the money would go towards.

[–] TrekBeatTK 11 years ago

This is hard to figure on several levels. I definitely don't want fake-looking CG. At the same, the crazy mega-blockbuster budgets of modern fantasy movies are getting ridiculous. It's also hard for me to figure basing on inflation. I think a good Sailor Moon movie could be made on a Star Trek movie budget -- the TNG movies, not the crazyily-budgeted Abrams movies. Those were about 50-75 million.

I'd also like there to be at least a little bit of location shooting in Japan, even if it's just a bit. I don't know what that would run it either. But I'm going to say $90-100 million initially. It can (and should) definitely be done for less than $150 million. The first Iron Man was made for less than that.

Casting unknowns who don't demand insane salaries will help.

-TK

"I've always admired atheists; I think it takes a lot of faith." -Dr. Joel Fleischman

[–] takashi_kupo 11 years ago

I think the 50-75 million range is actually quite good. You can really save on location shooting if you have a very organized crew and schedule. The CG is the most expensive, followed by the director (if you get a big name). There won't be too many well known actors for a Sailor Moon film, especially since most of the cast has to be so young. Like you've put here, there are plenty of films that have gotten by on a solid hollywood budget and still looked aesthetically pleasing.

[–] xenophile2002 11 years ago

I think you are probably right. Toss in another $5 million if there is any famous name involved.

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